Watch Us Grow

If you love to "ohh and aww" over puppies and kittens this is the place for you! Each week the Center staff will add new photos and updates on a litter of puppies or kittens that are currently in foster care so you can “Watch Us Grow”.

Meet Lulu and her pups!

Lulu came to us as a transfer from the Department of Animal Services. When she arrived she was very much pregnant and ready to deliver. We immediately sprang into action and placed Lulu in a foster home where she could rest and get ready to deliver her pups. Lulu’s foster mom reports that she handled delivery of her pups like the true precious gem that she is. She is the sweetest girl and a fantastic mom.

On the afternoon of April 24th, a good Samaritan brought 5 kittens to our Center. They were abandoned by their mother and needed saving! This kind person intervened and brought them here to be placed into our foster program where they could receive proper care. These little babies were about 1 week old- so little that they needed specialized care. Our staff was quick to get warming pads and kitten formula ready to make sure these babies were happy, healthy, and full!

We had 2 fosters who were willing to split the bunch to make sure they could give them all the attention they needed. Bottle babies are extra work and need feedings about every 2 hours at such a young age. They can’t even go potty without the foster’s help. So, this is the story of one foster household who took in tiny Albert and Abraham!

We would like to introduce you to Licorice's eight adorable babies! Yes, that's right! EIGHT babies. Born two weeks ago, Licorice is doing a great job at her mommy duties. All of the babies and mommy are thriving and doing great!

While Licorice is still awaiting the arrival of her puppies, she’s enjoying spending time with her human foster brother. She loves playing and taking naps while she can. We’re expecting she’ll be a busy mama any day now!

Say hello to our new mama to be, Licorice! This sweet girl was transferred to the center from our friends at the Riverside Department of Animal Services as a stray. Despite being very pregnant, she is still a happy go lucky pup who loves her human friends, especially her foster brother. The center's veterinarian has estimated Licorice’s delivery date to be, about another week. Stay tuned for the birth announcement pup-dates!

Daisy's kittens have their eyes open and have started to become more active. It's great that they have hit one of their first milestones.

Here are some of the milestones you can expect from kittens. The small remnant of your infant’s umbilical cord will drop off during thier second or third day of life. They are born both blind and deaf with their eyes sealed shut and their ears folded. Their ears will unfold somewhere between 6 and 14 days, and they will be able to stand and crawl at the end of their second week.

Your little one will take their first blurry glimpse of the world somewhere between 5 to 14 days after birth. Thier eyes will be blue — at least until they are a month old, when they may begin to change colors.

Between their third and fourth week, your fuzzy bundle’s teeth will begin to erupt. Like people, kittens start with baby teeth, called deciduous teeth. These will fall out to make room for adult teeth between their third and ninth month.

This pretty mama is Daisy! Daisy came to us in June looking for a safe haven to deliver her babies after being dumped in an industrial lot.

Luckily, someone in the area was watching over her and helped her find her way to us. After three weeks with us, Daisy still hadn’t had her kittens.

Her foster mom brought her back to the Center so we could examine her and schedule an appointment to get x-rays done to check on the babies’ progress. Well, shortly after her arrival, our office doubled as a delivery room. Daisy delivered her first three babies with ease, however the other half of the litter was born breeched. Our foster coordinator stayed with her to assist in the delivery until all her kittens were born.

Thankfully after all the mayhem, Daisy is doing great and all seven of her newborn babies are healthy and striving.

Mambo has reached the 12-week-old mark. At this age, puppies are very interested in their environment. This makes them at higher risk for getting into "things" as they explore their environment. It is estimated that a puppies brain is fully developed at this age and this is the ideal time for them to begin "training". They can begin to understand right from wrong and remember the consequences (reward!). This is also a great time to start training with a leash and collar.

Flamenco cuddles with staffer Nick after his bath. It's time to get spick and span clean and ready for adoption!

If puppies get used to regular bathing as youngster, bathing them as an adult will be a breeze. If you have a new puppy or will have one soon, try to focus on associating bath time with treats, toys and games. Bring some toys into the tub, encourage your puppy to play with the bubbles and make the bath seem like playtime.

Tango sits nicely in the sunshine to have his picture taken. At the nine-week mark Tango and his litter mates involvement with their environment continues to grow along with their motor skills. They have begun to learn which behaviors are suitable for which times and have a strong desire to earn attention. It won't be long now before they are ready for forever homes.

Cha Cha’s puppies have reached the 8-week milestone and are primarily focused on the basic needs of eating, drinking, sleeping, eliminating and playing. Play is at the forefront along with lots of sleep.

Play and agility is at the forefront of their development. Most puppies’ 8-weeks old are "clumsy". After all they just learned to walk at 3-weeks of age and run at 5-weeks of age, which was just a few short weeks ago. They are developing their gross motor skills that help them to run, play, and "hunt". Their fine motor skills will come later.

After a rough and tumble session of play Fandango and Mumba take a well-deserved nap. Puppies that are 8-weeks old sleep approximately 18 to 22 hours per day.

Puppies are fluffy bundles of joy that bring a smile to our faces no matter how slobbery or silly they are. Need more convincing? Just take a gander at Mambo and the reasons why puppies are amazing, adorable, awesome and stupendous will make perfect sense once you gaze into those eyes.

Puppies can be a lot of work and are a huge committment. They need to be taught boundries and manners. Many people ask, when the right time to start training is. The answer, right away!